iamshack

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Aug 23, 2015 -> 10:07 AM) No one in my house falls asleep during ANY White Sox game. It helps that you are further west.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 22, 2015 -> 12:02 PM) Two great posts. Amazing that in one case a private school teacher makes it hard for you to graduate for no reason and in another some pervert regligious tries to hit on you during an important counseling session. Chalk up two very negative instances re. religion. Yeah, and for whatever reason, organized religion sometimes seems to serve as a landing spot for these types of individuals, which could not be a worse place for them to land. They're put in a position of authority and power and they seem to either abuse it or enjoy it just a bit too much.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Aug 22, 2015 -> 09:36 AM) You can consider me one of the sheep that got lost. I was raised Catholic and attended Catholic school for quite a few years yet arrived -- at least at this point in my life -- where I am today. Do I believe in religion? No. I believe "religion" is short for "man made rules meant to control the masses". That said, do I believe in spirituality in that I believe there is "something greater" out there? Yes. I believe the creator of the universe, whatever that creator might be -- be it an alien, a man, a random phenomena, or an explosion -- is "God", and "God" does not necessarily have to be a being. I believe in the prime mover...and I believe -- without man made religion -- that we should all strive to better ourselves because it's the right thing to do, not because we are told to do it. I dislike the religious that lean on praising God for good things, yet not blaming him for bad things -- and of course, this is because he works in mysterious ways -- which is the weakest cop out argument ever invented. Yes, deciding to give a child brain cancer so they can live a miserably short existence is mysterious only in that he's an asshole if in fact he's making these sorts of decisions. And of course the canned response to that is they get to live a glorious afterlife -- WELL...not according to original sin they don't...because if they've not made their first confession they're headed to hell or purgatory...which is more hypocritical nonsense. And even if they did, if people truly believe the afterlife is greater than this one, why are they afraid to die? More nonsense. What I consider man made religion is often a mixture of the following: 1) impossible set of rules to follow 2) rules that change depending on completely arbitrary decisions (A few examples: there was a time that accepting communion before confession was a sin -- that's no longer the case, there was a time that eating meat on Sunday was forbidden all year, now it's just during lent. 3) hypocritical in that religious people will often poke fun at other religions and call them cults or talk about how absurd they are (look at Scientology), another made up religion that follows alien crab people (apparently), but let's be honest...what's more absurd, powerful alien life or an invisible man floating in the sky? I can go on and on with this list, but I'm growing bored of it already. Similar viewpoint. I attended catholic schools for most of my life, which culminated in an all boys high school with a curriculum taught by a group of fairly old school religious types. In my senior year religion course, I questioned the "fire and brimstone" attitude of my instructor and he responded by holding my impending graduation in the balance and then giving me a "d" for the course. I literally didn't know if I was actually graduating as I walked across the stage to receive my diploma. I then attended a private university run by a religious order of brothers and one of them tried getting all touchy feely with me in a "counseling session" he arranged to discuss my academic and spiritual path at the university. Those types of things, overlaid upon many other pretty ridiculous experiences really spoiled any possibility of me having a positive viewpoint of organized religion. I don't really concern myself with what others choose to believe, as long as they don't push their views on me.

Interesting debate. Put me in the camp that says it is self-defense if the homeowner believes he was in imminent danger. The very word imminent suggests that someone fleeing is no longer posing danger. Obviously, this is a question of fact, and if the fleeing criminal is shooting at you while fleeing, that could constitute imminent danger. As for continuing to fear one's life or safety after the criminal has fled, this is a reasonable consideration, but the lawful actions should not include "hunting the criminal down." SS makes some valid points here; it is a slippery slope once we start allowing that sort of retribution to qualify as "self-defense." Other lawful actions would include purchasing a security system, purchasing a guard dog, moving, etc. There is a reason homeowners pay a premium to live in "safe" neighborhoods. While access to money should not determine the ability of one to live in a safe environment, it is a reality of urban life. For me personally, I have always been opposed to owning a gun. Now that I have a young child, I must admit the thought of purchasing a gun for protection has indeed entered my mind. However, my thought process is that I would only utilize that gun if given no other alternative. Otherwise, that is what my Great Dane's are for

QUOTE (iamshack @ Nov 21, 2014 -> 05:33 PM) Hmmm...not my favorite signing ever, but shouldn't hurt us. Well, it was worse than I thought then even.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 21, 2015 -> 08:49 AM) Matt Spiegel ‏@MattSpiegel670 3h3 hours ago My @dailyherald column on the timing & the wanderlust. If Kenny wants to go, Jerry needs to let him do it. #WhiteSox http://www.dailyherald.com/article/2015082..._medium=twitter … Dan McNeil ‏@DanMcNeil971 3h3 hours ago @MattSpiegel670 @dailyherald I'm sure it's a fine read but Kenny isn't going anywhere. Dollar to a doughnut I'm right. Ventura will return 2 Matt Spiegel ‏@MattSpiegel670 2h2 hours ago @DanMcNeil971 @dailyherald Robin is definitely coming back. Kenny wants out. Well if he really wants out, they should just let him go. Not sure how you can keep a guy in a position like this if he doesn't want to be there.

How about that!

Hell of a turn there.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 20, 2015 -> 08:58 PM) Rather see them play good and barely lose than play awful and win. Monday was the perfect loss Perhaps for the team but not for your blood pressure, Fathom. If I was going to root for them to lose I think I would have to simply avoid watching.

Those jerseys are like my secret favorite White Sox jersey of all time

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Aug 20, 2015 -> 05:27 PM) Does anyone know if you can have two different TV providers in the same household? We currently have Directv and are on contract until next July. We might be moving into a house with someone else who has Charter Cable and don't want to make them change providers, is it possible to get DirecTv installed and only ran to the basement or is that not allowed? What is the penalty for breaking the contract? Seems like it would be less than keeping the service for 10 additional months for no reason.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Aug 20, 2015 -> 10:29 AM) That makes sense, but there seems to be another example of no accountability with this franchise, just letting the same people stick around. I get that. I just don't think that should lead us to a conclusion of "fire everyone." I'd start with others first.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Aug 20, 2015 -> 05:35 AM) The #1 problem has been the inability to develop a single player who can hit the ball well. That leads having to scour the free agent/waiver/trade market for veteran bats, which has proven to not be an ideal recipe for success. Who do you blame for that then? That's the million dollar question. Jerry's refusal to spend in the draft had an effect, but the problem lies deeper than that IMO. I don't blame Kenny Williams for our inability to develop position players. I'd fire Buddy Bell for that.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Aug 20, 2015 -> 05:16 AM) If the results on the field don't match up to your impression of the rosters year after year after year, then maybe those rosters weren't put together as well as it first appeared. I realize players underachieve at teams, but are you really gonna blame the players for 7 consecutive years of disappointment? That seems to be your basis for keeping this FO, well that and "Hey, at least we aren't the Mariners" That's a fair criticism of the FO. Obviously this is a chicken or the egg conundrum. I guess if it were up to me, I would look to make other changes prior to changing the FO.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Aug 19, 2015 -> 10:05 PM) Did ventura leave the dugout to argue that? What good would that do?

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 19, 2015 -> 10:04 PM) Day off tomorrow, good time to fire Ventura It's another game against Anaheim. But I suppose we look like we've been taking days off on game day all year.

What the hell is Trayce doing tying his f***ing shoe there?

QUOTE (Lip Man 1 @ Aug 19, 2015 -> 08:37 PM) Jerksticks: Those teams also had major holes. Here's one example. Kenny thought that he'd be fine with 40% of the starting rotation in 2009 being filled by a beat up, injury prone Jose' Contreras and a pre steroid Bartolo Colon. In fact in an ironic twist, the day after Buehrle's perfect game with the Sox in first place by a game if I remember correctly, those two started a crucial DH in Detroit. The results were predictable. It was all downhill from there. No you can't fault the front office for 100% of the issues that have prevented this team from reaching the post season since 2008, that would be unfair. Just as it is also unfair to basically say they were blameless. Injuries are part of the game, the Sox have had their share including 2010 when almost all of the bullpen was on the DL at various times in August and they blew game after game and a playoff spot. But here's the thing....the Cardinals have been blown apart by injuries to key guys over the past five years. They keep making the playoffs. The Yankees had a few seasons where they were gutted by injuries...yet somehow they still won 88-90 games. How do those teams do it? That's something the Sox front office needs to be asking themselves as well as the fans. Just my opinion. Mark Mark, you make some good points. I don't think anyone is saying the White Sox as an organization are run as well as the Cardinals have been over the past 10-15 years. However, that doesn't lead one to the conclusion that our FO should be fired, either.

QUOTE (JUSTgottaBELIEVE @ Aug 19, 2015 -> 08:18 PM) So how does it work? As long as the sox make a qualifying offer and he rejects the sox are compensated with the signing teams first round pick? The team that makes the qualifying offer that gets declined receives a sandwich pick as long as that player is signed by the date of the next draft.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Aug 19, 2015 -> 08:13 PM) thanks! That is middle of the pack, at 16th in the league.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Aug 19, 2015 -> 07:46 PM) Where did you find that stat? I'm interested in knowing how many wins we have since the start of the 07 season. Baseball reference. We have 683 wins, as of today, since the start of the 2007 season.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Aug 19, 2015 -> 07:39 PM) And around the 18th most playoff appearances That is why I went out of my way to mention my impression of the rosters and not just the result of the on field play. I clearly pointed out the disparity I see there.

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Aug 19, 2015 -> 07:15 PM) Sustained success?? What on earth are you talking about? We have the 10th most wins in baseball since 2000.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Aug 19, 2015 -> 06:26 PM) I'm so proud of where we are now and where we are headed. I'm still in awe the way KW & RH flipped cores in a matter of like a season. Remember our aging expensive BS team just 2 years ago? All gone now, no real money on the books looking ahead, great young talent performing at the MLB level and a farm system that is starting to look RRRREALLY good. The Sox flipped the core so well that we actually had a shot at the playoffs this year! f***ing incredible job. I can't wait for the next few years as it will only get stronger. Kneel to your masters Kenny & Rick. I agree. One thing people seem to fail to recognize in regards to this FO is their ability to keep us out of situations where we literally have no chance to compete for long stretches of time. I have a difficult time getting on Kenny, and to a lesser extent Rick Hahn (because of his limited experience as GM), for the rosters they've constructed. I have felt like for a number of years we fielded a roster that was as good or better than most other teams in the division (I recognize Detroit's dominance recently), but the players on the field just didn't get it done. I understand that excuse gets tired the longer the paper roster doesn't match up with the results on the field, but I still believe it is a valid consideration. Maybe I don't know as much as I think I know and that is why the rosters have generally appeared very competitive to me. However, if one looks at the recent history of baseball there are only a handful of teams that have been able to build sustained success better than the White Sox have. On the contrary, there are a whole LOT of organizations that have fared worse. I struggle to so quickly dismiss this FO because of those reasons.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 19, 2015 -> 02:25 PM) And 4 players, so 6 different players who would otherwise be in our organization. And then people who say that we didn't give up all that much will simultaneously say how we don't have that much depth in our system, or lament that we can't bring positions up to tolerable performance levels. And that's on top of other decisions not made...things like "we didn't trade Alexei last year" when hindsight shows that to be a mistake as well. So even if we didn't get a top of the league return for him, there's 7+ layers we surrendered for the privilege of 2015. And that doesn't even count the opportunity-cost of not giving innings to EJ in the last month when he really should have been up. Yep. Still worth taking the shot, IMO. And you are getting a bit ridiculous trying to prove your point that you despise everyone and everything to do with this organization currently.